Trivial
by TheDarkFlygon
Summary: [Non-Despair AU] That day, the first question his students asked was "what happened to you, sir!", but the first question Kaede asked was "will you be fine on your own, Shuichi?".


That day, the first question his students asked was "what happened to you, sir?!", but the first question Kaede asked was "will you be fine on your own, Shuichi?". The former seemed more logical, but the second made him feel better for sure.

To be fair to his beloved first-year class, he wasn't on crutches the last time they had seen him, right before the holidays. It'd obviously trouble people to see someone they knew suddenly have an unavailable leg and the burden it brought with it, including said crutches and the utter inability to climb tall flights of stairs like he'd usually do instead of facing himself with the absolute discomfort of using the lift with students he had somehow never seen in his professional life before (maybe he had seen them at the supermarket or in the streets, but then they weren't students, they were teenagers or young adults living their lives as human beings).

It was a stupid story too, the kind of stuff you'd think only happened in cartoons and humoristic manga. He fully expected, coming back to work after the break and with his right ankle in a splint, to be ridiculed for injuring himself like that but, instead, the reception was far less comedic that he'd have ever seen it coming.

In the lounge, most (if not all) of his colleagues instantly noticed something was wrong, prompting them to ask him about his ankle and how it all unfolded. Shuichi, (as always…) overwhelmed by the sudden attention and caring looks he was getting from his workmates, could only let the story flow from his mind to the floor of the room, for a moment uncaring of how dumb he was going to look in the eyes of everyone.

"Well… I fell in the stairs when helping one of my neighbours. She's a very nice old lady, so I couldn't sit there and watch her struggle with her groceries. The lift of my building was under maintenance and she always shops for groceries on Thursdays, I just happened to be passing by to get my mail on the ground floor, nothing too drastic. Once I was done, I resumed my course and that's where I tripped on an unmade shoelace, and… I twisted my ankle in the process."

Most of his workmates didn't verbally react, unless he counted the "oh no" reactions he got from his little story. Wishes of recovery still rained upon him, making him wonder if you really needed a dramatic reason to be injured and yet not only get googly eyes staring at whatever was suddenly wrong with your body. Compared to the reception he expected, he was almost glad to have that splint, now a sign that people cared about him. How had he first felt lonely in the teacher's lounge? What a stupid question, on second thought.

But then one workmate in particular stepped up compared to everyone else, making herself stand out from the crowd as everyone was going back to their duties and other activities. One peculiarity in the midst of normal life resuming its course, in short. Facing him, arms crossed and worried expression on her face, Kaede Akamatsu asked:

"Will you be fine on your own, Shuichi?"

Calling her a "workmate" was reducing her to her professional relationship to him. Everybody in the lounge knew it (and some of them had encouraged it), these two were dating, having met in the room where they first made their dating status public. They didn't live together, or she'd obviously not be asking him about that right now, but she had brought up the topic of moving together before he had even possibly thought of what it'd feel like to be the one initiating the romantic action (he was a slow one when it came to relationships).

They still liked to pretend like they were just close workmates or friends in the lounge as most people played along, faking surprise when they'd spot her giving him a kiss on the cheek before he'd go teach to his class or she'd do so with hers. It was all a question of habits, stupidly cheesy ones of that, but this was a routine he couldn't get enough of. (One day, he'd be the one to kiss her in public, he swore).

Kaede's concerned eyes (despite the fact she knew about it, he had called her when he had managed to make himself land in a clinic with an unusable ankle) prevented him from ever wanting to make her worry for him, yet he knew only the truth would satisfy her. It was a weird thing, considering she liked playing pretend, but once a serious matter came to the table, she'd be the first to drop her mask and throw away those other people involved had to hide their faces, intentions and knowledge. As such, there was only one way to answer: clumsy saying what he honestly felt like, in public.

"Well, huh… (He always started his hesitating sentences with "well", it seemed). Obviously it's not exactly going to be _handy_ or anything like that, I think that's obvious, but I think I'll manage just fine for most things. I guess I just won't be writing stuff on the board for a couple weeks, that's all… (Then it dawned on him: there was _one_ thing he truly _absolutely_ couldn't do on his own anymore). Though, I need to ask you about something, Kaede…"

Her eyes oddly shined, as if they started sparkling as soon as she learnt he had to confess to her. A weird thing to be excited about (or to even notice, good job there Shuichi…), but he'd do with it. At least, that meant she was listening, that she cared, and that was all he needed right this instant.

"What is it?" she asked him when she noticed he was looking on the side, avoiding eye contact as much as possible, and lowered his head.

"Would you… like to have lunch together for, like, the rest of the month? I… need someone for, huh… W-well, you know what I'm talking about… I could ask anyone, but… (His voice was nothing but an embellished whisper at that point). I really want us to spend more time together and…"

Before he could finish his sentence, she interrupted him by putting her hands on his shoulder, almost surprising him enough to drop his crutches (and plummet to the ground in a ridiculous fashion), her irises popping with light. Was it _that_ exciting to have someone ask you to help them at the cafeteria? Or was it just a "Kaede thing"? If that was the latter, then, it worked because he sure was happy to have her and was lucky to be the one dating her, considering how much of a loser he tended to be socially speaking.

"Of course! I'd be glad to have lunch with you, Shuichi! Especially when you need help like you currently do!"

Her voice's tone soon took a turn for something more serious while she approached her face from his, seeking a direct _tête-à-tête_. He expected it, he could have only seen it coming as soon as he spoke up about it, it'd happen once again: a scolding.

"Don't be that ashamed to ask for help, Shuichi, seriously! We're supposed to be intimate now that we're dating, it's not going to look weird if you ask me to eat with you at the cafeteria. Be more open, okay?"

He sighed, relieved. This was going to be fine; he _knew_ it. It was always fine, when Kaede was around. It'd always be fine.

"Thank you very much, Kaede…"

She took her hands off his shoulders, putting them on her hips instead.

"No need to thank me, (she gave him a thumbs-up), I'm always glad to help!"

She went silent for a minute, then looked back at him, a bit more unsure if he read her facial expressions correctly.

"You're sure you're going to be fine, right? I'd be glad to give you a hand… if you see what I mean…"

It was Shuichi's time to lightly laugh.

"I think I'll be alright as long as I'm careful, but you can tag along if you want to make sure I am. I was going to head to my classroom to prepare myself, so if you want, you can check up on me."

Oh God, that was unnaturally smooth from him. How did he pull that off?

"I'd be more than happy to!"

"Then let's go."

They both left the lounge, with Kaede right behind him, happily humming to a pop song he didn't quite recognize, with no worries in his mind and a feeling he couldn't mess anything up.

It was crazy to see how much one person's company could make him think differently.


End file.
